A friend was pushing back today on my reflections on how I think a Christian might vote in this upcoming presidential election. It's no surprise to those who know me best, that I really don't get into American politics all that often. I stand when folks say the pledge of allegiance, but I won't say it. (This recently made for lots of looks when Kendra and I attended the local county commission meeting.) Back when I did vote (the last election I participated in was 2008), I was a true "swing vote" -- I've voted Democrat or Green in every election in which I've participated, save one (1992). Most of my votes have split along party lines between federal and local/state elections. As I write, I couldn't tell you which party I'd vote for if I were voting. And the last thing on my mind is to influence another's vote, so I wouldn't tell you even if I could tell you. I do, though, think that folks who identify themselves as Christians should vote as Christians first, and not as particular party members.
While Christianity is not a political party, it is political in the larger sense. At a fundamental level, faith concerns life in society -- the word politics comes from the Greek politeuĊ, meaning to live as a citizen. Everyone who is concerned with the life of our wider community (as every Christian must be) is "political" in the larger sense of the word. In essence, what I want to do in this short article is outline how some basic Christian beliefs should -- and should not -- influence a Christian's vote. I write with a dual audience in mind. I want to encourage Christians to be more thoughtful about their political opinions and I hope to demonstrate for the religious "spectator" that, despite some rather potent counter-examples in the US, the "Christian vote" is a vote for the good of the nation not an attempt to impose religious law on a secular society.
First, some thoughts on how Christians shouldn't vote ...
1. ... according to precedent ("how we always vote").
Voting patterns -- trust me -- are sometimes based on heritage. It's why I voted Republican in 1992. Everyone I knew in my family had voted Republican in the previous 1988 election, so I thought I had to vote Republican in 1992. It took me exactly one month later to realize that my vote hadn't been a thoughtful vote, whereas every Christian vote must be a thoughtful vote. So I quite voting according to precedent. Something as important as the way in which we humans govern our daily lives together should never be done flippantly, and I'd been flippant about my vote. That's part of what it means, I think, to love God "with all your mind".
Christians, I think, should also avoid not voting based on cynicism. This is largely a critique of my protest against voting, but it misunderstands what I'm saying. I don't refuse to vote because I believe that voting doesn't matter. Let me set the record straight: Voting matters! It only depends on what you call voting. I think voting happens in innumerable ways that are alongside the voting that takes place every ballot-time. So I tend to think voting every day is more serious than voting once a quadrennium. Anything less than taking voting seriously, though, is a failure to "love your neighbor".
2. ... according to "Christian" favoritism.
Yes, I know that certain Christian leaders baptize certain political figures as modern-day political messiahs. (I'm glaring at you, Rev. Graham, Jr.) But voting for a candidate simply because they've been identified as a Christian (or, even worse, that they self-identify as a Christian) is morally bankrupt. It's a form of religious favoritism. And anyone who engages in it, obviously has never read the Book of James or understood who "anointed ones" are in the Old Testament prophetic tradition. Having Christians in political office is no guarantee -- much less an indicator -- that the US will be marked by justice with peace. That compassion will be the norm by which we govern.
Sure, you can vote on whether a candidate has a track record of diligence and leadership in such ways of justice and peace, but it's irresponsible to favor a candidate just because they say they're a Christian, attend church often, etc. (This is why I would never -- not even on a bad day -- ever think of voting for Hillary Clinton.) Romans 13 is pretty clear that pagan nations can be "instruments of God" insofar as the execute righteousness ("rightness") with peace. That's why Isaiah views Cyrus -- not even an Israelite! -- as a messiah-figure. Those points deserve a lot more reflection by Christians than they often receive.
3. ... according to any measure of "economic prosperity".
Main parties and popular media make "economic prosperity" the primary measure by which candidates are often evaluated. And I'm here to tell you, Christians really don't care. That's hardly a window into the soul of a society. Christians aren't fixed on the bottom line (the Book of James or Jeremiah come in here!). In a society such as this one -- one that has always been a society without deep faith, other than the faith in America -- it's really the only measure by which we've ever been comfortable making a measure of the candidate. Christians can do a lot better than that. Because, if nothing else, 1 Timothy 6.10 should be a cautionary tale here.
So if those are the reasons I think Christians shouldn't vote, these are the reasons I think they should ...
1. ... vote for others.
A Christian vote is not first and foremost a vote for ourselves -- for our own desires and wishes -- but is, instead, a vote for (on behalf of) others.
"Honor others above yourselves" (Romans 12.10). "Each of you should look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others" (Philippians 2.3-4). Christians must take those admonitions seriously when it comes to politics. We should use whatever influence we have to consider others ahead of ourselves.
Yes, this is a concept foreign to nearly every way that voting as Christians in the US has been thought about. But I think that's only because voting in the US for Christians has been as Americans first, and Christians second. (This is why I would never -- not even on a bad day -- ever think of voting for Donald Trump.) Typically, folks in my area tend to vote on whichever candidate favors small businesses (this tends to be Republicans). And Union folks tend to favor Union favorable candidates (this tends to be Democrats). Corporations are staffed with folks who "get out the vote" for candidates who favor corporations (this all depends on whichever candidate can speak corporate-speak the best.) But such voting is inadequate Christian voting.
In short, Christians who vote based on their own personal preferences really aren't voting Christianly. It's not a matter of getting things right for me or my family. It's whether the candidate is concerned for the public good.
2. ... for the moral health of the community.
The Christian has no right to impose our moral vision on others (think 1 Corinthians 5.12 here). Having said that, as citizens who believe that a society's health depends (in part) on living as the Creator designed, Christians will want to ponder: Which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator, the values of justice, harmony (nationally and internationally), sexual responsibility, honesty, family and mercy.
In this regard, it belongs to the Christian community to lead a society in thinking through a number of issues -- abortion, sure, but there are plenty of others. Environmental care, stem-cell research, the asylum of refugees, care for the elderly and poor, marriage and relationships, etc. Then factor those deliberations into voting standards. Moral health is an honorable goal for a society (Proverbs 14.34). But this is precisely the point at which Christians in America are dropping the ball.
We tend to think that "conservatives" lead the way there. They don't. "Liberals" also have a moral language that fail at this point. Because neither of them have a moral vision of the health of the polis. If you're still thinking in these terms, you're missing the boat. Give up that antiquated (modern) notion of moral deliberation and think more broadly. That's what Christians should be helping Americans to do. We aren't.
3. ... vote with the poor and weak.
Psalm 82.3-4. Proverbs 14.31. James 1.27. The Bible is filled with admonitions about caring for the poor and weak. If Christians don't vote with them and with them in mind, then we aren't voting Christianly. In fact, remove those admonitions from the Bible and it'll fall apart. It's care for the poor and weak that is the very backbone of a Christian moral vision. Traditionally, in the US, that's meant voting with the Democrats. Others claim that only when we increase the overall prosperity, generating wealth as a standard of living, will we bring the poor out of poverty. That's been the claim of Republicans for decades. I'm not here to get into that intractable argument. Because I think they're both wrong. Instead, I want to insist -- on the strongest possible terms -- that if you're voting without them, you're not voting Christianly. A Christian vote is one sincerely motivated by a concern to see the disadvantaged cared for -- whether they be the elderly, the unemployed, the homeless, refugees or drought-affected farmers. Whatever socio-economic model Christians believe in, they ought to vote for those who need their vote more than they do.
4. ... vote for the Gospel.
See what I had to say here.
While Christianity is not a political party, it is political in the larger sense. At a fundamental level, faith concerns life in society -- the word politics comes from the Greek politeuĊ, meaning to live as a citizen. Everyone who is concerned with the life of our wider community (as every Christian must be) is "political" in the larger sense of the word. In essence, what I want to do in this short article is outline how some basic Christian beliefs should -- and should not -- influence a Christian's vote. I write with a dual audience in mind. I want to encourage Christians to be more thoughtful about their political opinions and I hope to demonstrate for the religious "spectator" that, despite some rather potent counter-examples in the US, the "Christian vote" is a vote for the good of the nation not an attempt to impose religious law on a secular society.
First, some thoughts on how Christians shouldn't vote ...
1. ... according to precedent ("how we always vote").
Voting patterns -- trust me -- are sometimes based on heritage. It's why I voted Republican in 1992. Everyone I knew in my family had voted Republican in the previous 1988 election, so I thought I had to vote Republican in 1992. It took me exactly one month later to realize that my vote hadn't been a thoughtful vote, whereas every Christian vote must be a thoughtful vote. So I quite voting according to precedent. Something as important as the way in which we humans govern our daily lives together should never be done flippantly, and I'd been flippant about my vote. That's part of what it means, I think, to love God "with all your mind".
Christians, I think, should also avoid not voting based on cynicism. This is largely a critique of my protest against voting, but it misunderstands what I'm saying. I don't refuse to vote because I believe that voting doesn't matter. Let me set the record straight: Voting matters! It only depends on what you call voting. I think voting happens in innumerable ways that are alongside the voting that takes place every ballot-time. So I tend to think voting every day is more serious than voting once a quadrennium. Anything less than taking voting seriously, though, is a failure to "love your neighbor".
2. ... according to "Christian" favoritism.
Yes, I know that certain Christian leaders baptize certain political figures as modern-day political messiahs. (I'm glaring at you, Rev. Graham, Jr.) But voting for a candidate simply because they've been identified as a Christian (or, even worse, that they self-identify as a Christian) is morally bankrupt. It's a form of religious favoritism. And anyone who engages in it, obviously has never read the Book of James or understood who "anointed ones" are in the Old Testament prophetic tradition. Having Christians in political office is no guarantee -- much less an indicator -- that the US will be marked by justice with peace. That compassion will be the norm by which we govern.
Sure, you can vote on whether a candidate has a track record of diligence and leadership in such ways of justice and peace, but it's irresponsible to favor a candidate just because they say they're a Christian, attend church often, etc. (This is why I would never -- not even on a bad day -- ever think of voting for Hillary Clinton.) Romans 13 is pretty clear that pagan nations can be "instruments of God" insofar as the execute righteousness ("rightness") with peace. That's why Isaiah views Cyrus -- not even an Israelite! -- as a messiah-figure. Those points deserve a lot more reflection by Christians than they often receive.
3. ... according to any measure of "economic prosperity".
Main parties and popular media make "economic prosperity" the primary measure by which candidates are often evaluated. And I'm here to tell you, Christians really don't care. That's hardly a window into the soul of a society. Christians aren't fixed on the bottom line (the Book of James or Jeremiah come in here!). In a society such as this one -- one that has always been a society without deep faith, other than the faith in America -- it's really the only measure by which we've ever been comfortable making a measure of the candidate. Christians can do a lot better than that. Because, if nothing else, 1 Timothy 6.10 should be a cautionary tale here.
So if those are the reasons I think Christians shouldn't vote, these are the reasons I think they should ...
1. ... vote for others.
A Christian vote is not first and foremost a vote for ourselves -- for our own desires and wishes -- but is, instead, a vote for (on behalf of) others.
"Honor others above yourselves" (Romans 12.10). "Each of you should look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others" (Philippians 2.3-4). Christians must take those admonitions seriously when it comes to politics. We should use whatever influence we have to consider others ahead of ourselves.
Yes, this is a concept foreign to nearly every way that voting as Christians in the US has been thought about. But I think that's only because voting in the US for Christians has been as Americans first, and Christians second. (This is why I would never -- not even on a bad day -- ever think of voting for Donald Trump.) Typically, folks in my area tend to vote on whichever candidate favors small businesses (this tends to be Republicans). And Union folks tend to favor Union favorable candidates (this tends to be Democrats). Corporations are staffed with folks who "get out the vote" for candidates who favor corporations (this all depends on whichever candidate can speak corporate-speak the best.) But such voting is inadequate Christian voting.
In short, Christians who vote based on their own personal preferences really aren't voting Christianly. It's not a matter of getting things right for me or my family. It's whether the candidate is concerned for the public good.
2. ... for the moral health of the community.
The Christian has no right to impose our moral vision on others (think 1 Corinthians 5.12 here). Having said that, as citizens who believe that a society's health depends (in part) on living as the Creator designed, Christians will want to ponder: Which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator, the values of justice, harmony (nationally and internationally), sexual responsibility, honesty, family and mercy.
In this regard, it belongs to the Christian community to lead a society in thinking through a number of issues -- abortion, sure, but there are plenty of others. Environmental care, stem-cell research, the asylum of refugees, care for the elderly and poor, marriage and relationships, etc. Then factor those deliberations into voting standards. Moral health is an honorable goal for a society (Proverbs 14.34). But this is precisely the point at which Christians in America are dropping the ball.
We tend to think that "conservatives" lead the way there. They don't. "Liberals" also have a moral language that fail at this point. Because neither of them have a moral vision of the health of the polis. If you're still thinking in these terms, you're missing the boat. Give up that antiquated (modern) notion of moral deliberation and think more broadly. That's what Christians should be helping Americans to do. We aren't.
3. ... vote with the poor and weak.
Psalm 82.3-4. Proverbs 14.31. James 1.27. The Bible is filled with admonitions about caring for the poor and weak. If Christians don't vote with them and with them in mind, then we aren't voting Christianly. In fact, remove those admonitions from the Bible and it'll fall apart. It's care for the poor and weak that is the very backbone of a Christian moral vision. Traditionally, in the US, that's meant voting with the Democrats. Others claim that only when we increase the overall prosperity, generating wealth as a standard of living, will we bring the poor out of poverty. That's been the claim of Republicans for decades. I'm not here to get into that intractable argument. Because I think they're both wrong. Instead, I want to insist -- on the strongest possible terms -- that if you're voting without them, you're not voting Christianly. A Christian vote is one sincerely motivated by a concern to see the disadvantaged cared for -- whether they be the elderly, the unemployed, the homeless, refugees or drought-affected farmers. Whatever socio-economic model Christians believe in, they ought to vote for those who need their vote more than they do.
4. ... vote for the Gospel.
See what I had to say here.